When time stands still...

Its been a while since I had a chance to post, but with all the prep work we have been doing and all the nice deer we have been seeing on our Wildgame Innovations trail cams I cant help but think hunting non-stop.

This is one of the toughest times of the year for us as hunters.  Not only does every day drag on because we know the end of the day brings us one day closer to opening day, but we start to think, rethink and second guess all the decisions we have made in preparation.

This year we have a handful of deer stands that are in new locations.  All of these locations were decided upon for various reasons.  Some are based off of pictures from the trails cams as we moved them around the property through the summer.  One stand is an adjustment from an old permanent stand that is no longer use-able. The last stands are based off of our personal experiences hunting the land in recent years and the improvements we have done to the land (ex: food plot).

We research, discuss, research some more, discuss some more, decide, adjust, place the stands and then second guess ourselves until hunting comes and goes. I think it is human nature to second guess your decision making when it comes to hunting.  The variables change every day if not every minute.  Some of these are controllable and some are not.

We have a couple final decisions to make and then it is go time.  We will finally get to see who wins and who loses. 

E

Hard Work, Hard Play

Hard Work, Hard Play

A food plot went in, 2 stands were hung and over 100 rounds were sent down range.  

It was a good weekend of work on the property.  Eric got both his stands hung in what we think are going to be great spots around our new Big-N-Beasty food plot.  The first is in the same spot he was in last year, just facing a new direction.  His second is in a great spot along one of the few ridges we have to work with.  Getting into it will be really easy and just off the trail.  This could be one of his best chances to shoot a deer in years.  If anyone needs it, it's Eric.  He has been dry for years now.  

We also raked and planted a small "kill plot" that is maybe 10'x14' square.  I had sprayed the area with Round up a month ago, we raked all of the loose plants and cleared as much ground as we could.  Matt used a hand spreader to throw half a bag of Whitetail Institute Imperial Bow Stand blend.  I will be hunting off to the side of this food plot in my ladder stand position this year.  We hope it will continue to draw well into the fall for us.

The trail cams produced some great pictures again this time out.  The enjoyment of seeing the deer on camera makes the hard work of prepping easier each time we go.  The bucks are nice to see, but overall seeing so much deer activity in an area we will be sitting is amazing.

After we were done with our prep work we decided to break out the arsenal and have a little fun.  Matt and I brought our .22 hand guns, Trace brought a .44 Mag revolver straight out of Dirty Harry.  Matt also had an AK47 type semi-auto that his neighbor sent with for us to shoot.  After destroying plenty of cans, bottles and cups from the truck ride up, we all left with a big ole smile on our faces.  

This Sunday we are going to plant the Big-N-Beast from Frigid Forage on our main food plot.  A Polaris Magnum that I just purchased and plenty of man power should make this trip productive and fun!  

Working in a Sauna

Trail cams are out and we have been collecting pictures.  The first few weeks produced a good collection but getting them was a chore.  Working in 90 degree weather with humidity that could kill a lesser man, was not fun.  Myself, Eric and my Dad all braved the heat to get some things done for the upcoming season.  We are more excited than ever now.

We decided to do some things differently this year.  Our first two trail cam placements were over piles of Deer Corn from Gander Mountain.  The cams were put out in strategic spots surrounding the field we are turning into a food plot.  The first location was where Eric had his stand last year.  The second was 100 feet to the north west on a trail coming into the food plot.  I will try and give you a break down of studying the pictures in a separate post.  

While we were there collecting pictures we also did some prep work.  All of our trails needed to be cleared and cut.  There has been a lot of water, like flood type water levels, in our area.  The weeds loved the water and have been growing.  Along with some mowing we started the prep on what should become our two food plots this year.

The first is a clover plot from last year that we wrote about in Second Week of Work last year.  It sits just off of the back corner of the property and draws the deer in from a pine grove.  The second is in the big main field that sits on the property.  It was once used for planting dozens of years ago and has since become overgrown.  In order to begin getting the plots ready to plant, we mowed both spots and sprayed with Round Up.  

In the smaller kill plot, we are planning on planting Whitetail Institute Imperial Bow Stand blend.  The larger plot is about 1/2 an acre and is most likely going to get the Big-N-Beasty blend from Frigid Forage.  This will allow us to see how the different seeds grow in our soil conditions.  Stay tuned for a trail cam update this weekend!  

Pre Season Prep

It's that time of year once again!  It seems like we just climbed down from the tree for the last time and yet, here we are making plans for another year of hunting.  This year we are going to be hitting the ground running and hopefully have a little more to show for it.  We put in a lot of grunt work last year and learned quite a few lessons along the way.  Here are the plans for this year:

1.  Sandstone Land - We had very limited success last year here.  We shot one buck and 2 does after hunting it all bow season and most of gun season.  We plan on relocating stands, using different attractants and overall land improvements this year.  I know a lot of experts tell us that we should be finishing all of these things this time of year and not starting them, but due to the nature of our jobs, that just isnt possible.  We have high hopes for bow season this year on this property.

2.  Metro Land - We had ZERO success on this property last year.  It was a combination of poor planning and poor execution on our part.  We are going to hunt this land very carefully this season.  I don't see it being a heavy year on this property but we will use it to fill the fridge if we can.  Again, we are going to change some stand locations and even some overall strategies on this land.  

3.  Land Acquisition - We are pushing forward with a new endeavor this year.  After hunting small plots of land our whole lives, we are looking to start the process of purchasing a larger chunk of land.  We have started looking at lands and areas trying to decide what is the best for us and what we want to pursue.  We are realistically looking at 2 years out before we actually make a purchase, but a lot can happen in two years.  

I can't wait to see what we pull together for this season and how it pans out.  I can tell you I am overly excited to get going.  See you all again soon with more detailed info on our plans!

Turkey Watching

Well our first year of turkey hunting has come and gone.  We had no idea what we were doing or how to do it but we did it.  Together Eric and I spent more than 40 hours over 4 days in the blind.  We saw plenty of hens and one tom.  Neither of us was able to get close enough to get a shot at the tom and we only saw him once.  This was quite a learning time for us.  

Not only did we learn a lot about turkey hunting, but a lot about ourselves as well.  Both of us decided to dive head first into this turkey hunting thing and hunt with our bows.  If we are going to hunt, we may as well do it the way we want.  It was good being out in the woods when we usually are not.  We saw a few dozen deer and had a good chance to pattern some of the deer in their off season habits.  While they may not carry over to the deer hunting season, I don't think we can ever have to much knowledge of our prey.  

My butt is tired from the sitting and my eyes may never be the same after all the wind this past few days, but my thirst for the hunt has been quenched for a few weeks.  Now we begin our prep for deer hunting.  My bow muscles need strengthening and I could use a good amount of practice this summer.  Add that to our quest for property that we will talk about soon and you have a full summer.

Sorry we do not have pics to show you of our grand entrance into turkey hunting stardom.  It didnt go down exactly as planned.  

Off Season Activity

We have been working hard this off season on quite a few things.  We want to expand our hunting opportunities so we have been searching high and low for a good lease property.  So far we haven't come up with anything, but we will let you know if we do.

We also have the normal off season activities of studying and planning tactics, cleaning our gear, acquiring new gear, and practicing with our bows.  I recently acquired a new utility trailer that should work out great for hauling gear and what not.

Eric and I are also prepping for our first ever spring turkey season.  It should be interesting to say the least.  It feels good to be hunting in the spring when we normally are just dreaming about it.

WINNER WINNER TURKEY DINNER!!!!

This weekend turned out to have a silver lining that fuels the fire even more!  Dennis and I were both notified that we were drawn for the 2012 Spring turkey hunt.  This is going to make for a very interesting adventure.

Neither Dennis nor I have ever hunted turkeys, although we have seen many in the woods.  Any advice or insight that you may find helpful, we are all ears!!!!!

On a side note, today is Superbowl Sunday.  One of the greatest TV viewing days of the year.  Check it out and let us know what you thought was the best commercials of the day!!!

E